ST. GEORGE, Utah – No. 8 seed Wallace State (AL) Community College used a late rally to defeat #9-seed Santa Fe (FL) CC, 2-1, in the first round of the 2013 NJCAA Division I Women's Softball National Championship tournament Wednesday afternoon at the Canyons Complex. Wallace State CC (41-17-1) will now go on to face top seed Butler (KS) CC in the championship bracket quarterfinal Thursday afternoon at 5 p.m. (MDT). Meanwhile SFC (50-12) will play #16-seed Pitt (NC) CC in an elimination game Thursday afternoon at 2:30 p.m.

Santa Fe hurler Karla Claudio had it going early against Lions as she limited WSCC to just one hit while allowing just three total baserunners over her first five innings of work. Meanwhile Wallace pitcher BreeAnna Blevins was equal to the task as she limited SFC to just one run and five hits over her first five frames, though the Saints managed to plate a run in the fifth on a Cassidy Masso RBI-single.

However Wallace was able to solve Claudio in the sixth as the Lions cashed in a one-out walk with a two-run home run from outfielder Katie Gentle. Blevins then worked around a pair of SFC baserunners in the seventh to close out the victory.